COLES, William
COLES, William (1821–1906) was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, son of Carmi Coles, a joiner, and Eliza Purkis. Carmi Coles was a long-term and superannuated employee of HM Portsmouth Dockyard. In 1841 William was listed as an apprentice carpenter and probably followed his father into the civil service. He is thought to have been an Imperial Civil Service officer from 1844, before arriving in Australia in 1848. From October 1854 he was employed on defence works under George Barney, in the Royal Engineer’s Department in New South Wales. In 1857 Coles was appointed First Clerk of Works in the Colonial Architect’s Office and from August to October 1859 acted as New South Wales Colonial Architect while Alexander Dawson was suspended. He continued as First Clerk of Works under James Barnet, overseeing harbor fortifications such as Fort Denison, and the new South Head lighthouse. He retired after 33 years’ service in March 1890 before making a visit to England, including Southampton where he saw his sister, Emma. Coles was a trustee of the Zoological Society of NSW, defending the Society against a charge of keeping a disorderly place by charging 2d for admission on Sundays, shortly before his death in 1906 at his residence, Colesville, Concord, Sydney. He married Julia Sophia Leigh at Fareham, Hampshire in 1846. She predeceased him in 1901.
Employment
Education
Migration and Travel
Genealogy
[F] Carmi Coles (c1791–1870). b. c1791, Hampshire, England; d. 2 Jan 1870, Southampton [joiner-carpenter]
[S, 25 Mar 1821, Portsmouth / M] Eliza Purkis (c1801–1845) b. c1801, Portsea, Hampshire, Eng.; d. 6 Dec 1845, Portsea, Hampshire, Eng.
· [5C/1-2B] William COLES (1821–1906) b. 1821, Portsmouth, Eng; d. 20 Oct 1906, Concord, Sydney, NSW. [carpenter]
o [S, 29 Apr 1846, Fareham, Hampshire, Eng. / M] Julia Sophia Leigh (1825–1901) b. 2 Aug 1825, Portchester, Hampshire; d. 12 Sep 1901, Sydney, NSW.
§ [5C/1-3G] Sarah Jane Coles (1827–1853) b. 1827,Portsea, Hampshire; d. 6 Feb 1853, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
§ [5C/2-3G] Emma Lavina Coles (c1830–1908) b. c1830, Southsea, Hampshire; d. 26 Nov. 1908, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
‒ [S, 3 Dec 1873, Droxford, Hampshire, Eng / F] James Rattenbury (c1826-?) b. c1826, Crediton, Devon, Eng; d. ? [haberdasher]
§ [5C/2-2B] Edward Coles, (c1830–?) b. c1830, Portsea, Hampshire; d. ?
§ [5C/3-3G] Louisa Eliza Rayner Coles, (c1835–1861) b. c1835; d. c14 Apr 1861, Bemerton, Hampshire
[S. 30 Aug 1860, Portsea, Hampshire) / F] William Painter [linen draper]
Other Activities
Trustee, Zoological Society of NSW
References
Colonial Architect’s correspondence, 2/586, AANSW; Peter Reynolds (1972), The evolution of the Government Architect’s Branch of the NSW Department of Public Works, PhD thesis, University of NSW, 243; Sydney Morning Herald, 1 Mar 1890, 8.